Tax credits have left us with nothing

citymum

Hi im new here but just wanted some advice.
I am a mum to 4 children and married. I work 20 hours a wk. Me and my husband have just got back together after a short seperation. Anyway my tax credits renewal came though so i phoned up and gave them all the info they needed and also told them that my husband was back they toook all his details and i was told everything was fine. The following wk i when i checked my bank account there was no payment from them so being concerned i phoned them and was told that my claim had been cancelled and i had to reapply with a new claim because my husband was back (which i can understand) and because my hours have changed (from 16 to 20) and that my employer had changed!! (which it hasn't, we have just been taken over by another company but my payslips etc are still the other company we dont offically change til this october), so i filled the new claim pack out sent it off and a few days later phoned them to check they had got it...nothing so i explained that i had no money and was living off my child benefit (£60 a wk) to which i was told, well it takes 2 wks to put on the system and another 3 wks us to decide what your getting :mad: so they are happy to leave a family of 6 with no money and no means to get any.

I phoned up again after speaking to a family member and told them that they had put us into hardship and was told a member of the payment team would call me back which she did but she told me that as i didn't have a live claim on the system "i wasn't get a penny" (yes her words :eek:)
So the short of it is i have a family of 6 TRYING to live off £60 a wk.
Is there anything else i can do to get them to move they're backsides and pay me??

Any advice is very welcome

Thank you
Citymum X

* Before anyone asks the simple question of my wages i will answer it now. Because i work 20 hours a wk we have to pay some rent and council tax and my wages go on them and the family car ie insurance. So we really do live off the tax credits not good i know but thats just the way it is LOL*

KimYeovil

There is nothing wrong with a family of six living on £60 a week for a short while. Perhaps your husband could contribute to the household through working?

System

You have been informed correctly. Until your new claim has been processed they cannot issue a hardship payment to you because there is nothing to attach that payment to. All claims are ceased when a partner leaves a household or joins a household and a completely new claim has to be made.

It does take about 2 weeks for it to be processed because they are worked according to date received order and they currently have about 2 weeks post in hand to be worked. However, providing there are no difficulties caused by the scanner being unable to read your handwriting or your claim being highlighted for a compliance check, you claim should generate a payment schedule within about 48 hours of it being processed.

citymum

My husband is the child carer as we have an 8 mth old and a son that is only in nursery 1/2 days. I can see what your saying but i have school dinners to pay then school fund, gas, electric and after that there really isn't much left.

Citymum x

citymum

Pam17 wrote: »

You have been informed correctly. Until your new claim has been processed they cannot issue a hardship payment to you because there is nothing to attach that payment to. All claims are ceased when a partner leaves a household or joins a household and a completely new claim has to be made.

It does take about 2 weeks for it to be processed because they are worked according to date received order and they currently have about 2 weeks post in hand to be worked. However, providing there are no difficulties caused by the scanner being unable to read your handwriting or your claim being highlighted for a compliance check, you claim should generate a payment schedule within about 48 hours of it being processed.

Thank you, i just feel like my heads spinning trying to juggle everything, ive even asked for overtime at work in the hope that if things do get really bad i could ask for an advance but that really is the last thing i want to do as when payday does come my wages will be down by that amount.

Oldernotwiser

citymum wrote: »

Thank you, i just feel like my heads spinning trying to juggle everything, ive even asked for overtime at work in the hope that if things do get really bad i could ask for an advance but that really is the last thing i want to do as when payday does come my wages will be down by that amount.

Shock horror! Fancy 2 adults having to work more than 20 hours a week between them to support 4 children - what is the world coming to!

mitchaa

As above, you are expecting to support 4 children on 1 parent working a 20hr week in work:eek: I cannot believe so many people are heavily reliant on tax credits. It is shocking.

1 of you should be working full time, the other part time. You should be easily amassing 60hrs between the pair of you. 1x20 1x40. If you done that, you would be living a lot more comfortably.

If you choose to stay as you are, then I dont see your whine, the tax credits system is complex, you cannot just expect a phone call 1 day and money in your account the next. The world doesn't quite work like that

snoop2008

Whilst I do understand your concerns, it really highlights how dependant many families are on tax credits. I am not saying that many families do not deserve them, but when there is a change in circumstances, it's a wake up call as the reality hit homes about how do you now survive the wait! Budgeting for a few weeks may seem hard and the system may seem unfair but at the end of the day, however hard your finances are at the moment, you will find a way to support your family in the short term. As your partner has come back, perhaps he could look for a full time job.

Whilst the system is designed to help families your other half should be helping himself to support his family!

DaisyFlower

I agree with the others, you have chosen to have four children and need to look yourselves at ways to support them instead of just relying on tax payers to subsidise your lifestyle choice. One person working part time was obviously never going to cover the expense of so many children and you should never become reliant on income top-ups as they can be withdrawn at any time.

Your husband needs to look for full time day work and then you could work evenings around him part time.

BERFFRO

I can sympathise with you for the wait, But surely you have got to realise that the government nor the tax system has to pay for the upkeep of your children! You're not in the same situation as another person i had a row with about this a few days ago. She thought it was so wrong that she couldn't afford to go out on the weekend as she had no money as all her benefit money went on her children!:eek:

One thing i dont understand on your post is how come you only get £60 a week child benefit, You stated that you work 20 hours a week, So where's your wages? If your husband is the child carer am i right in assuming that he gets some sort of benefits IS?

Indie_Kid

BERFFRO wrote: »

One thing i dont understand on your post is how come you only get £60 a week child benefit, You stated that you work 20 hours a week, So where's your wages? If your husband is the child carer am i right in assuming that he gets some sort of benefits IS?

Unless one of the children (or himself) has a disability, he won't get anything. He can't get IS because of the OP's wages.